Our Mission at Reaching Heights
We mobilize community resources to foster highly valued public schools that provide all Cleveland Heights-University Heights students a successful education.
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Early Voting Starts Oct. 2; Voter Registration Ends Oct. 9
 | | Click on image to go to Board of Elections site. |
Nov. 6, Election Day, isn't the only important date to remember this campaign season. In-person early voting starts Oct. 2, 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, corner of Euclid and East 30th, downtown. You can also vote by mail - the form you'll need is here. The last day to register to vote is Oct 9. Registration forms are available here. Early voting ends Nov. 2 (this is a change from 2008 - no early voting the weekend before Election Day). Voting information from the League of Women Voters can be found here. |
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Reaching Heights Music Support Includes Lessons, Heights Summer Music Camp
 | | Click on photo to watch the Finale Concert of the 8th Annual Heights Summer Music Camp. |
The 7th year of the Patti-Jackson Music Lesson Scholarship program sponsored by Reaching Heights will begin in November, 2012. In our area, most private music teachers charge $15 - $25 per 30 minute lesson. These scholarships will pay for $10 per lesson for a maximum of 24 lessons from November to June for students in grades 5 through 9 who play an instrument in their school orchestra. The district's instrumental music teachers will nominate students who will complete an application and compete for a limited number of scholarships. Much gratitude goes to the many generous donors who make these scholarships possible and allow our young musicians with financial need to reach their potential.
Our music lesson scholarship program is part of our support of musical excellence in the Heights schools. Click here to watch the Finale Concert from this summer's Heights Summer Music Camp, where 90 students spent a great week immersed in music. One third of our campers received scholarship assistance. Registration for the 9th Annual Heights Summer Music Camp, June 17-23, 2013 at Wiley Middle School, will begin in January. |
Lay Facilities Committee to Meet Oct. 3
At a work session last month, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education discussed how to proceed in the wake of its decision not to put a facilities bond issue on this November's
 | | Click on image to go to an archive of facilities-related documents on the District website. |
ballot. At the work session, the Board made several decisions:
- Any bond issue would be on the November 2013 ballot (not May). A November bond issue would require board action starting in July.
- The current Master Facilities Plan, also known as Plan C, will be re-examined and is open for revision.
- The board is creating a Lay Facilities Committee, with 25 members, that will broadly represent the community. A board member will sit on the committee (similar to the Lay Finance Committee), as will representatives of both cities, local non-profits, the library, PTAs, seniors, and others. FutureHeights and Reaching Heights are working together to facilitate the committee's work.
The Lay Facilities Committee will facilitate the next phase of community engagement that reaches as much of the community as possible, in order to confirm the need for a Master Facilities Plan; explore what the community can afford and how the plan will be financed; examine the number, location and configuration of schools, informed by the instructional needs of the district, and make recommendations to the Board on a plan that can gain broad community support on the November 2013 ballot.
The first meeting of the Lay Facilities Committee will take place Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm in the renovated Legacy NewTech small school on the third floor of Heights High. The public is encouraged to attend.
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A Shift in Thinking About Children, Poverty and Education
Public radio's "This American Life" recently had a back-to-school themed show that's worth a listen (here's the link). Ira Glass talked with Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed, about the focus  on cognitive abilities, conventional "book smarts and the growing research of "non-cognitive skills" - qualities like tenacity, resilience, impulse control - that are being viewed as increasingly vital in education. Other segments feature economist James Heckman, who's been at the center of this research and this shift in thinking about how we prepare children for a productive life; Dr.Nadine Burke Harris on studies that show how poverty-related stress can affect brain development, and inhibit the development of non-cognitive skills; and a teenager named Kewauna Lerma, talking about her struggles with some of the skills discussed, like restraint and impulse control.
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Upcoming Events in the Heights
▪  The 35th Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour, presented by Heights Community Congress, is this Sunday, September 23, 9am - 6pm, with the theme "Cleveland Heights Gems." There also is a preview party Saturday, September 22, 2012. Click here to buy tickets online (which you'll need to pick up at the HCC office) or for a list of local merchants who are selling tickets.
 ▪ Splash into Lake Erie Ink, will offer an afternoon of creative expressions, Sunday, Sept. 30, at Lake Erie Ink, a writing space for youth, 2843 Washington Blvd. in Cleveland Heights (the former Coventry Elementary School). Enjoy poetry, puppets, food and tattoos. Performances begin at 4:30 p.m. featuring Ray McNiece, members of Take Nine poetry troupe, Lake Erie Ink Youth Writers, and Possibilitarian Puppet Theater.
 ▪ The 8th Annual FutureHeights Online Auction, northeast Ohio's most exciting stay-at-home fund-raiser is now accepting donations Don't delay - Donate online here. Bidding begins Oct.13. Support a great cause while increasing your reach to Heights area & Greater Cleveland consumers and beyond! Easy online donation for weeks of auction preview exposure.
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